Board of directors

Mr. La Salle, FCPA, FCA, has over 20 years of experience in the development and operation of mining projects in West Africa. In 1995, he founded Canadian-based SEMAFO Inc., which grew from a junior explorer to a +250,000 ounce-per-year gold producer in West Africa. Mr. La Salle has been, and remains, a key stakeholder, an investor, a chairman, a board member or an executive of many public and private sector companies, primarily in the mining, energy and clean tech sectors where he has been a strong proponent of transformational change and shareholder value creation.

An entrepreneur in the life sciences field, Mr. Taub is also an investor in a number of pharmaceutical and medical device companies. He was previously the CEO and founder of a NASDAQ-listed company and is currently an investor and chair of another NASDAQ-listed firm. Mr. Taub holds a BA in Languages from the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and an MBA from INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France).

Dr. Hambrecht served BASF SE in various capacities around the world for over 40 years, lastly as CEO and Chairman of the Supervisory Board. He served on a multitude of boards including Daimler Truck AG, Mercedes Benz AG, Bosch, Lufthansa AG, and Fuchs SE. Currently, he is Chairman of Trumpf SE. Dr. Hambrecht obtained his doctorate in chemistry in 1975 from University of Tübingen, Germany.

With more than 20 years of finance experience as a CPA, Natacha Garoute has developed a strong focus in mining and publicly listed corporations with international exposure. Prior to joining Champion Iron Limited, Ms. Garoute was Chief Financial Officer of Roxgold Inc., Corporate Controller at SEMAFO Inc., and held senior positions at Canadian National Railway Inc and PwC. She also sits on the Board of Directors, Audit Committee and Special Governance Committee of Corem. Ms. Garoute holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Québec in Montréal and a law degree from the University of Montréal.

Yves Grou is a CPA CA, having received his Bachelor in Commerce degree from McGill University. He is a member of the Québec Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants. He was co-founder in 1980 and a partner until 2004 of GLA. At GLA, Mr. Grou coordinated and led the reverse take-over process related to several public companies, having completed several transactions with mining, oil and gas, telecommunications and medical devices companies. In 2004, GLA was sold to an accounting firm.

Ms. Martin-Nederveen has over ten years of experience in project finance, structured finance, and capital structuring advisory with a focus on the energy and natural resources sector. Currently, she is an Executive Director with HCF International Advisers. Prior to joining HCF, Eloïse Martin-Nederveen was employed by ING in the project finance advisory team focusing on large-scale energy and natural resources projects. Ms. Martin-Nederveen holds an MBA from ESSEC Graduate School of Management, Paris, as well as a Master of International Business (Hons) from L’Institut d’Études Politiques (Paris), and a Master of Humanities from Sorbonne University.

Mr. Nolet de Brauwere is a mining engineer with over 35 years of industrial experience, gained across the mining, management consulting and healthcare sectors. Since 1997, Mr. Nolet de Brauwere serves as president of PhysIOL SA, a designer and manufacturer of intraocular lenses for cataract surgery. He holds a master’s degree in civil mining engineering from Université catholique of Louvain (UCL) and a master’s degree in industrial management from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL). A member of Ashoka Support Network, Mr. Nolet de Brauwere sits on the boards of several Belgium-based, privately held companies.

Nikolaos Sofronis is founder of BS Family Office Assets Management S.A Geneva, specializing in private equity. He gained his over 16 years of experience in private banking in the most prestigious institutions in Luxembourg and Switzerland. Previously, Mr. Sofronis served as chair of a London-listed corporation. For the last 20 years, he has been actively involved in the mining sector.